Vegas... or bust...

Last week I found a great deal through Travelocity - $200 off a flight/hotel package.

So, even though I hate the heat, I booked myself a trip to Vegas for three nights for $232... I had the week off and I hate "wasting" holiday time. Las Vegas has air conditioning right?

Yesterday, I woke up to an email saying I wasn't eligible to use the promo code I used to get the $200 off even though I didn't violate any of the terms and conditions of the promo code, and they cancelled my reservation.

Crappy thing was - 3500 people had their packages cancelled by Travelocity. No warning, no call to ask for the $200 instead of canceling the package... they just cancelled it.

Four calls to India later (I know "Nancy", "Adam" and "Jack" were not based in North America, that's for sure), and after an email that I wouldn't be getting any refund on my $232 I paid, Travelocity finally sent out a tweet that said that "Re: NFB promo code, if we cancelled your booking, we will refund your payment and not charge a cancel fee."

While I'm happy that I'll apparently be getting my money back (I'll believe it when I see it), that didn't solve the issue that I had $350 worth of non-refundable Cirque du Soliel tickets purchased already.

So, I did what I normally do - I went online and booked directly from the source. I booked a flight on Westjet using my Westjet dollars balance, and found $15 per night rooms at the Imperial Palace (where I was going to stay anyways, as it is my home away from home in Vegas).

In the end, my $232 trip is now costing me only $175. My flights are better, I get one free checked bag each way, and I'll have (hopefully working) TVs on my flight.

Travelocity, while I will NEVER use your service again both because you cancelled my trip for no apparent reason and have the customer service skills of a wet rag - in the end, you cancelling my trip ended up working in my favour!

Lesson learned... some deals are too good to be true. And since I actually like planning vacations, I'll be sticking to airline and hotel websites directly for future travel.